


a language offstage

by irwens



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, guess i have to make my own tag for whatever this is called, idol/fansite au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:47:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23608573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irwens/pseuds/irwens
Summary: joohyun debuts under red velvet, a group from a small, hopeful company, and seungwan is her first fansite.
Relationships: Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy
Comments: 6
Kudos: 64





	a language offstage

red velvet debuts from a small, hopeful company.

the four of them come together with the same dreams every idol shares of fame and success, of one day loving and being loved by the rest of the world, of their names being known, of being able to perform.

but the idol industry is a competitive market filled with talented, shining individuals, and there are groups and names far, far larger than their own. 

in the first few weeks after debut, their managers have to beg to find slots for red velvet to perform in. they’re squeezed into schedules at the end of more experienced groups, called in for the sparse, few times a broadcast needs a substitute group when another couldn’t make it. they spend the large majority of their time backstage visiting the waiting rooms of other seniors, presenting their new album to them in hopes of gaining their support.

the world of idols is harsh and relentless, bone-deep exhausting in ways only a very select few would understand. but their seniors are those very select few. 

joohyun knows there’s reason to keep on dreaming when the sunbaes that greet them accept their album with tired yet warm, understanding smiles.

as a person who chose such an unforgivingly demanding career, joohyun feels like she should say she’s never once thought of quitting. but that isn’t true; there have been many, many times where she has lost hope. 

in the end, it’s always been the little things that have kept her going. 

like when she meets her first fansite. 

—

while their managers struggle to find more schedules for them to promote in, red velvet returns to street busking. 

previously, they only did this before debut, to practice going in front of crowds and to at least get their names out there earlier. there’s a completely different feeling in performing in mundane, open spaces for passerby to gawk at though, in comparison to more formal, controlled settings such as real stages. 

joohyun is, to say the least, absolutely terrified but trying not to show it. she presses the tremors of her hands into the hem of her skirt, listens to seulgi introduce them as her gaze moves around the small crowd gathered near them. she can see phones up and hear their rapid shutter clicks, and she tries her best to give what she thinks is her practiced, idol-like smile, but it still feels small and shaky on her amateur lips.

a particular flash catches her attention then, and joohyun blinks, eyes automatically drawn toward the source. 

a figure stands slightly apart from the rest of the crowd, face concealed beneath a blue cap with a white W etched on. and this is what startles joohyun the most: they are the only person here that isn’t from her management team with an actual, professional camera.

and it’s pointing right at her.

a warm hand lands on the small of her back, and joohyun quickly tears her gaze away to face the rest of the crowd. “hello, i’m red velvet’s leader and main rapper, irene,” she says into her microphone, the same introduction she’s rehearsed time after time, but somehow never enough. her face naturally flushes under the collective eyes turned toward her, and joohyun hastily bends forward in a bow. “thank you for coming to watch us perform. we hope you’ll enjoy.”

there’s scattered applause as joohyun moves into position, scanning briefly over the rest of her members to check that she’s in the right place. one by one she locks eyes with seulgi, then sooyoung, and then yerim, gathering confidence and assurance in the determined gazes of her members. 

from the side, their manager gives them a thumbs up before the first few beats of “happiness” begin to blare out from the speakers. joohyun loosens her stance, looks toward the crowd, and her performance smile slips on like a second skin.

just like that, they’re off.

—

three songs, a cover, and a brief closing to wrap up and thank everyone once again for watching later, joohyun is sweating beneath her makeup and taking measured sips of water from a bottle yerim pushes into her hands. they’re all exhausted, of course, but it’s with a feeling of exhilaration and completion, like they’re one step closer to something that’s just over the horizon.

she blames it on the satisfaction of a job well done for why she lets sooyoung tug her into her arms with little resistance, feeling their tallest member lean her weight against her back with a happy sigh of relief. 

“that went well,” sooyoung slurs, too warm and breathy into her ear. joohyun half-heartedly swats her away with a little smile. “unnie, can you treat us to dinner tonight?”

“yah, you’re not even trying to hide what you’re doing,” joohyun grouses in disbelief, lightly smacking sooyoung’s arm.

“is it working?”

“no.”

“seulgi-unnieeeeee,” sooyoung calls cheerily, pushing away from joohyun to wrap herself around her other member, and joohyun barks out a laugh at the startled, confused expression on seulgi’s face. 

“we’re leaving in five minutes,” one of their managers reminds them, looking up from her phone where yerim is peering at. she ruffles the maknae’s hair with a grin, and yerim squawks indignantly. “good job again, girls.”

joohyun smiles, a warm feeling in her chest from looking at all the people around her, the ones that she’s worked alongside for the past five years of training. there’s unbelievable energy and a kind of freedom of expression joohyun has only ever felt while performing, but in the aftermath of the adrenaline rush and in the dying light of the day, it’s these simple little moments that she somehow can’t help but treasure just as much.

a small flash of light comes from nearby followed by a shutter click, and joohyun whips her head around to look straight into the lens of a camera.

blue cap. it’s the person with the camera from earlier. 

for a brief moment, joohyun feels a surge of pure panic as she wonders just why someone is taking pictures of her. does she have a stalker? is this for blackmail? or what if it isn’t her who’s being targeted, but one of her members?

and then she remembers that she’s an idol, that she just performed in public, and that she should be trying to smile instead of glare at what turns out to be a young woman with blonde hair and wide, apologetic eyes, clutching nervously at her camera as she gazes frozenly back at joohyun.

blue cap has a facemask on covering her up to her nose, and the brim of her hat is pulled down low over her head; yet despite how her eyes are the only visible part of her face, they seem incredibly expressive, enough so that joohyun thinks she can see every candid emotion written on her face. 

instantly, joohyun feels regretful and embarrassed; she quickly changes her expression into something more friendly, lips tugging up in a sheepish smile as she gives a small wave. 

appearing just as flustered as joohyun, blue cap ducks her head and lets go of her camera with one hand to timidly wave back. the action causes joohyun to realize how oddly small and . . . overall very harmless she looks. if she really is a stalker, her body language definitely doesn’t show it. 

“unnie, who are you—omo, is that a fansite?” seulgi squeals excitedly, appearing by joohyun’s elbow and causing her to yelp and startle in surprise. 

sooyoung laughs at her from where she’s draped over seulgi, and joohyun instinctively glares back before turning to her other member. “i—i think so?” joohyun says uncertainly, not actually sure at all. but if so, then for who? 

“this unnie,” sooyoung sighs exasperatedly before seulgi can speak up, looking at joohyun like she knows exactly what she’s thinking, but nevertheless is still visibly fond. “unnie, i’m pretty sure that’s your fansite.” 

another camera flash and click seems to confirm her words, as the three of them turn toward the stranger standing a few meters away. blue cap doesn’t look up from behind her camera this time, just keeps it trained on the three members, patient and steady, likely waiting for them to do something photo-worthy. joohyun is honestly still figuring out what exactly that entails. 

“master-nim, do you have a fansite name?” sooyoung calls curiously, and seulgi winces and complains that she’s yelling in her ear. 

joohyun watches, intrigued, as the fansite hastily stuffs a hand into the pocket of her jacket, pulling out a nametag to attach to the top of her camera. 

“winter purple,” seulgi reads slowly, squinting at the blocky english letters. she turns to joohyun with a beaming grin. “unnie, that’s your color!”

indeed, that is her color, both official and favourite. joohyun isn’t sure how to react; she feels frozen in place, a bit too shocked to really move. this could all be a coincidence, she thinks, still skeptical, still unwilling to believe. red velvet isn’t well-known, not even nearly as much as the other rookie groups that debuted this year. not to mention that a fansite can be for any one, any group, multiple idols at once. a single color means nothing. 

but as she watches winter purple lower her camera once more to meet joohyun’s gaze, shy in her movements yet somehow conveying warmth in the way the corners of her eyes crinkle, the way she gives joohyun a slight, subtle nod, she finds herself believing otherwise. 

“unnies, lets go,” yerim says, approaching the three of them. upon noticing the fansite standing a distance away with a camera, she gives a big grin accompanied by a wave, before pressing a hand against joohyun’s back to nudge her along. with one last glance at the girl in the blue cap, joohyun looks away and begins walking toward the van.

“who was that?” yerim asks them once they’re all piled into the car, their manager starting the engine.

“unnie’s fansite,” seulgi says excitedly with a clap, and yerim’s eyes widen in surprise, turning to joohyun for confirmation. joohyun can only nod slowly in return, still trying to convince herself that it’s true.

“really? how do you know?”

“she was taking pictures of joohyun-unnie during the performance and also after,” sooyoung pipes in while joohyun reaches over for their manager’s phone. “also, she looked like she knew we were scheduled to busk here.” 

“i can’t believe i missed all of this,” yerim says with a huff, pouting. she quickly dodges sooyoung’s attempt to grab at her cheeks. “i hope we get more fans from here on out.”

“we will, especially since kang seulgi is treating us all to a celebratory dinner tonight,” sooyoung replies with a smug look, and seulgi immediately begins to protest otherwise, pushing weakly at sooyoung’s shoulder from across the van. 

as the murmurs of her members’ conversation fills the car, joohyun looks down at the website from her search results, heart hammering in her chest. the tips of her ears flush as she gazes back at a photo of herself from their debut stage, taking in the proud, determined smile on her own face. 

if that isn’t enough proof, enough hope, then it’s in the caption that she’s faced with the truth of it all:

“winter purple

_ dedicated to red velvet’s irene _ .”

**Author's Note:**

> my tumblr is @irwen-s  
> thank you for reading, everyone!


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